How a 100‑Year‑Old Jewelry House Turned Lace Into Metal | Sotheby's

Añadido: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Did you know there's a century-old jewelry house [music] that turns gold and silver into silk and lace and that one of its creations was worn by an iconic superstar as she married the stage? [music] And the story behind that artistry begins with a ring that has been waiting in this box for nearly a century.

[00:00:17]>> [music] >> This is a diamond ring from the late [music] 1920s set with seven old European cut diamonds and crafted by Mario Buccellati, the founder who later became known as a prince of goldsmiths.

[00:00:36]It's [music] one of its earliest rings that shaped the house's distinctive aesthetic. Its design even echoes a ring made in 1932 for his wife, which just shows how personal this lace-like aesthetic was to him.

[00:00:49]The ring reappeared at Sotheby's Milan in 1996 [music] together with another pair of earrings and remarkably both pieces still have their original cases that survived.

[00:00:59]>> [music] >> And here is a fun detail.

[00:01:01]Even the cases themselves helped us date the jewels. [music] The ring box inside is stamped Milano and Roma matching the boutiques that Mario opened in 1919 [music] and 1925, whereas the earring case adds Firenze >> [music] >> to the side, meaning that the earrings must have been made after the Florence boutique has opened in 1929. And those early years also shaped the aesthetic Mario would soon become [music] known for inspired by Venetian lace and Mario translated the softness of the linen, silk, and embroidery into metal. This particularly is reminiscent of 18th-century garden-inspired giardinetto designs and the combinations of his mastery [music] in craftsmanship tied with his choice of designs inspired by the rich history of art surrounding him made his creations unmistakably Buccellati.

[00:01:49]After Mario passed away in the '60s, [music] his son Gianmaria carried the legacy forward. He kept Buccellati's love for naturalistic motifs such as begonias, peonies, [music] mulberries, leaves, and butterflies just to name a couple and refined the house's engraved textures in his own way.

[00:02:07]To bring these motifs to life, Buccellati turned to a set of its most distinctive techniques [music] including rigato, segrinato, and modelato.

[00:02:17]Rigato is a technique best known by Buccellati and it's a fine parallel engraved line that give the metal the soft and silky sheen almost as like brushed fabric. Segrinato layers tiny lines and dots in different [music] directions to create a velvety diffuse glow, which is often used to bring petals and leaves to life.

[00:02:38]Gianmaria would often use segrinato and rigato together as a combination to create complex sheens of flower petals and leaves of berries. Modelato is the most demanding out of all, which is carving metal into high relief and three-dimensional shapes that rise from the surface like miniature sculptures.

[00:02:58]This can be seen on this four-carat sapphire ring with a pierced dome as well, which is a fine modern Buccellati example.

[00:03:05]The craftsmanship didn't stay in the past. [music] It found new meaning through the collectors who wore Buccellati in their most symbolic moments. One of the most iconic scenes [music] came from Anita Mui and also one of my favorite Buccellati pieces sold at auction. [music] Pearl necklace and earrings by Gianmaria Buccellati sold at Sotheby's in 2011.

[00:03:24]This demi-parure was a very piece [music] she wore during her final performance where she symbolically married the stage. These jewels were acquired directly [music] from Buccellati at an exhibition she attended in Hong Kong and afterwards it was created exclusively for her in anticipation of her wedding day. Later during the final stage, [music] stunning jewels adorned her performance into a personal and deeply emotional farewell for her fans.

[00:03:49]From the earliest work of Mario Buccellati from the 1920s continued [music] with the legacy that Gianmaria Buccellati has honed still carrying on today with the house of Buccellati as the artistry comes full circle. A century-long history that very much resonates with us today.